Elastic top for hosiery



Nov. 14, 1939.

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w. LARKIN 2,180,247

ELASTIC TOP FOR HOSIERY Filed Dec. 4, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. LARKINELASTIC TOP FOR HOSIERY Nov. 14, 1939.

Filed Dec. 4, 1937 v IIII'III'IIII'I y II III IIIIII' 6 Sheets-Sheet 4'lllillllll IIIII I Ii 'III I I I IIIIIIIIIIII I y Il Il I l y w. LAKIN2,180,247

' ELASTIC TOP FOR HOSIERY Nov. 14, 1939.

Filed Deo. 4.' 1937 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 14, 1939.

ELASTIC TOP FOR HOSIERY Filed Deo. 4, 1937 e sheets-sheet e w. LARKIN2,180,247

Patented Nov.- 14, 1939 This invention relates to knittedv .5 Claims.

fabrics having elastic, i. e., bare or covered rubber, incorporatedtherein in such a manner as to supplement the normal inherent coursewiseelasticity ofv the fabric.

. It is and, prior to the present invention, has been common practice toincorporate a rubber strand in each course, or in relatively spacedcourses respectively, ofthestitches of which the fabric is composed,with the rubber in each in,-

stance extending the f ull length of each of the stitch courses in whichthe elastic is incorporated. Elastic fabrics of the type noted arecommonly employed as thewrist bands of gloves, or as the tops of menshalf hose and childrens socks, and

. in some instances as the tops or welts of ladies' knee, thigh, orfull-length stockings, with the elastic' fabric formed asan..integral,part of or permanently attached to the article pose ofkeeping the glove top in close for the purcontact with the wrist and formaintaining the hosiery in correct position on the limb of the wearer inlieu of the ordinary detachable suspender or bandtypes of stockinggarters.

Elastic bearing fabrics are most satisfactorily and most economicallyproduced on circular knitting machines, in the form of seamless tubes.In cases where the fabric is to include a rubber strand in eachcourse ofstitches, the fabric is to and/or across the needles o the so produced.in most instances, on a single feed knitting machine, wherein theelastic strand is fed y machine by nished fabric.

In some instances the fabric is produced on multi-feed machines whereineach round of knit- 45 ting produces a plurality of stitch coursescorresponding to the number of feeds of regular textile knitting threadsemployed in the machine. Where rubber is desiredA in every course arubber feed guide is employed adjacent the feed guide 50 for each bodythread.

Fabrics having rubber in every course have met with disfavor for use asstocking tops, etc., because of the high degree of tension such largeamounts of rubber produce in the fabric. High tension elastic fabricstend to retard blood cir- ELASTIC TOP. FOR vHOHSIERY Walter Larkin,Norristown, Pa., assigner to Fidelity Machine Company, Wilmin lcorporation of Delaware Application December 4,' 1937, Serial No.178,159

gton, Del., a

culation 'and to place restriction on the free muscular movement of thelimb of the wearer. For this reason, the more modern elastic fabricshave been' produced with rubber fourth course, for example.

Fabrics having rubber in relatively spaced in every third or courses maybe readily produced on multi-feed machines but-can not be produced withany degreel -of satisfaction on single feed machines. Prior to thepresent invention, manufacturers equipped with only single feed machineshave been faced with the necessity of either purchasing new multifeedmachines or going to heavy expense in converting the single feedmachines into multifeed machines. 'In some instances, due to thecharacter of the machine, the latter method has been found impractical,because the machine could not be converted. In other instances thiscburse may be undesirable because the machine is equipped to producefancy designs on the face of the fabric, which latter is highlydesirable in 20 childrens socks, for example. Fabrics of such fancyvariety are disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,772,400, dated August 5,1930; and a machine for producing such fabrics is disclosed in my p"riorPatent No. 1,841,249, dated January 12, Y 1932.- The fabric forming thesubject matter of` l the present invention may be Areadily produced inplain colors or with stripes or designs or a combination thereof on amachine of the type above noted, which is of the rib type. or on amachine of the non-rib type. The fabric may also be produced on flatmachines of the Lamb type or the Cotton type.

In each instance the machine would beequipped with a rubber feed guidecapable of movement in steps of a length v equal to but a fractionalportion of the full length of a. stitch course.

The primary object of the present invention is to produceka knittedfabric, either plain or ribbed,

having a continuous elastic strand incorporated in but fractionalportions respectively of different courses of stitches of which thefabric is composed, with said incorporations produced in staggered orlaterally offset relation to each other, with each incorporationembracing a plurality of the wales of the fabric, and with the offsetsoccurring progressively and successively in one direction across thefabric, in one section thereof,

and in an opposite direction in another section thereof, whereby theeffect of rubber in rela- LDI.

tively spaced courses may be readily produced on single feed machines,Whether or not the machine is equipped to produce -ornamented fabrics,

or equipped with yarn changing devices for producing stripes, or justsingle color effects, or

whether the machine is of the twin needle set type capable of producingribbed fabrics or the single needle set type capable of producing -vjustplain, i. e., non-ribbed, fabrics.

The fabric forming the subject matter of the present invention, andseveral modifications and practical applications thereof are disclosedin the accompanying drawings,'of which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic stitch view of a rib knit fabric showing anelastic strand incorporated therein in accordance with the principles ofthe present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 and illustrates a modification of theinvention as applied to a plain or non-ribbed fabric;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic prospective view of a glove or stocking topmade in accordance with the principles of the present invention andshowing the elastic strand incorporated in one side only thereof;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a pair of elastic strandsrespectively incorporated in diametrically opposite portions of thetubular fabric;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic plan view of the fabric shown in Fig. 5; f

Fig. 7 is a fiattened side View of the structure shown in Figs. 5 and 6;

Fig. 8 is a flat development of the fabric shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7with the fabric split and opened on the line o--c Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a flattened side view of a sock provided with en elastic tophaving two elastic strands incorporated therein in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention;

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic plan view of the top shown in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a fiat development of the top shown in Figs. 9 and 10 withthe fabric split and opened up on the line o-g, Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 9 showing a f different arrangement ofelastic strands therein;

Fig. 13 is a plan View of the structure shown in Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a fiat development of the structure shown in Figs. 12 and 13with the fabric split y and opened up on the line o-q, Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a view similar to Fig. 14 but showing three elastic strandsincorporated in the-fabric;

Fig. 16 is a view similar to Fig. 9 but showing a single elastic strandcompletely encircling the stocking top;

Fig. 17 is a plan view of the fabric shown in Fig. 16;

Fig. 18 is a flat development of the fabric shown in Figs. 16 and 17with the fabric split and opened up on the line o o, Fig. 17;

Fig. 19 is a diagrammatic plan viewof a circular knit fabric with twoelastic strands incorporated in opposite sides respectively of thefabric; and

Fig. 20 is a fiat development of a fabric of Fig. 19 with the same splitand opened up on the line o-n, Fig. 19 and with the split tubular fabricapplied to a fiat knit full-fashioned stocking blank.

The fabric shown in Fig. 1 is composed of a multiplicity of successivelyinterknit courses I, I respectively composed of regular knitted stitchesformed of any desired kind of textile foundation thread2. The courses I,I, collectively form a multiplicity of reversely extending stitch walesa, a and b, b which are respectively drawn to and form the oppositefaces of the fabric, producing the ribbed effect of the fabric.

A continuous elastic strand 3 is incorporated in fractional portions 4and 5 respectively of different courses I, progressively throughout thelength of the fabric. Each incorporation of the elastic strand 3preferably embraces a plurality of the wales a, aand b, b.' At one endof each of the fractional stitch course portions in which the elasticstrand 3 is incorporated. said strand 3 is knit into the fabric togetherwith the foundation thread 2, in a plurality of stitches in adjacentwales, as indicated at 5. In this instance the elastic strand 3 is knitin with the stitches of adjacent wales a, a on one face of the fabriconly and floats across an intermediate wale b disposed on the reverseface ofthe fabric. The remainder of the portion of the elastic strand 3which is incorporated in each fractional stitch course portion fioatsacross the fabric in one of the courses between the wales a, a on theone face of the fabric and thewales b, b on the opposite face of thefabric, as indicated at 6.

It will be noted that the incorporations of the elastic strand`3 in thefractional stitch course portions 4 and 5 are in staggered relation toeach other and each is in a relatively spaced course with respect to thepreceding and succeeding incorporations. Thus, the elastic strand 3extends in a zigzag manner through the fabric, throughout the lengththereof, while the individual incorporations forming the respective legsof the zig-zag arrangement extend in a general coursewise direction inthe fabric and in the finished fabric assume an angle to both thecourses and the wales of the fabric, as diagrammatically illustrated inFigs. 3, 5, 7, 8,A 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18 and 20.

Fig. 1 illustrates the fabric as being of the ribbed type, as abovenoted, while Fig. 2 illustrates the fabric as being of the plainnon-ribbed type, i. e., the fabric wherein` all the stitches forming thewales are drawn in the same direction to but one face of the fabric.'I'he elastic strand 3 is shown in Fig. 2 as being knit into the fabricwith each and every base fabric stitch in the fractional portions of thecourses embraced by the respective incorporations. However, it ispossible to incorporate the elastic strand 3a in the plain fabric ofFig. 2 by knitting the elastic strand into and with but one or morestitches in each fragmental portion of one stitch course and floatingthe thread across a predetermined number of wales to be knit into thefabric again with another stitch or stitches in the same fractionalcourse portion in the same' course or in another fractional courseportion of a different course, as in Fig. A1. The elastic thread 3 ofFig. 2 however, is shown as being knit into all the stitches of a groupconstituting each of the fractional course portions la, whereby floatsare eliminated.

It will be further noted that in Fig. 2 the fractional course portionsinto which the elastic strand 3 is respectively incorporated are offsetlaterally with respect to each other in lsuccessively knit courses andprogress in one dii'ection diagonally across the fabric. 'Ihisprogression may continue in one direction only whereby theincorporations would follow a spiral course in a tubular fabric or theprogression may reverse its direction in different successively knitsections of the fabric, inthe same general manner as illustrated in Fig.1, whereby the incorporations is of the circular seamless, tubular type,and

which is del-ined by the lines a-o, o-b.

Figs. f5, 6, 'I and 8 illustrate a fabric wherein` a plurality ofelastic strands 3a and 3b are incorporated in the fabric at oppositesides respectively thereof, in the same manner in each instance as theelastic 3 is incorporated in the fabric of Figs. `3 and `4. The elastic3a is confined to the segmental area. included between the radial linesa|-o-bi, while the elastic 3b is confined in that segment of the fabricdefined by the lines a2-o-b2.

Fig. 8 shows the fabric of Figs. 6 and 7 as being split on the line o-cwith the severed edges d, e disposed at opposite sides of the centerline o`-f, thus Fig. 8 shows the incorporations of the elastic strands3a and 3b as being duplicates of each other with each of said threadsbeing confined and zigzagging across relatively narrow longitudinallyextending strip areas the fabric and which as shown in Figs. 4 and 6 areincluded in angles of, for example, 60 degrees respectively. Obvicusly,`the fabric shown in Figs. v3 to 8 inclusive may be employed as, the topof a glove, the top of a mans half hose, the top of a childs sock, orthe top of a womans stocking.

Fig. 9 shows a circular knit fabric of the same general type as shown inFigs. 3 to 8, with the fabric applied to a mans or childs sock andwherein a pair of elastic strands 3c and 3d are each incorporated in asegment of the cire cular knit fabric of substantially 180 degrees withthe extreme edges of the zigzag paths of said strands abutting alongcommon lines o-y, o-h.

In and during the knitting of the successive courses of stitches l, l,of which the fabric disclosed in Figs. 1 to 11 inclusive. is composed,the elasticstrands 3, 3al and 3b are fed to the needles of the machineon which the fabric is being knitted by a guide independentof andmovableI relative to the guide by which the base fabric yarn 2 is fed tothe needles. The elastic strand guide is moved intermittently forrela.-v

tively short distances with respect tothe foundation thread guide andlthereby effect the incorporation of the elastic in the fractionalportions of different successively knit courses. To vobtain the zigzagpath of the elastic strand, the elastic strand guide is movedintermittently in one direction for any predetermined number ofincorporations of the elastic strand and then in the opposite directionfor a desired number of incorporations. however, may move intermittentlyin one direction only, and thus produces a continuous spiral around thefabric, as illustrated at 3e in Figs. 16, 17 and 18.

In anotherinstance separate guidesmay be used for separate elasticstrands 3f and 3g, as illustrated in Figs. 12, 13 and 14, and. whereinthe separate guides would move-in opposite directions simultaneously or'at different times and each carry its elastic strand around one halfof' the fabric, the two threads meeting at the points 1:, :c and y, yalong lines 0 1', 0 7' respectively.

Fig. l illustrates three elastic strands 3h3i, and 37' incorporated inthe fabric in substan- The guide for the elastic strand.

tially the same manner as previously disclosed in regard to the fabricsof Figs. 5, 6,1 and 8. In this instance, in producing the fabric of Fig.15, the three elastic strands 3h, 3i, and 37' would be fed by separateguides all mounted on a common carrier movable intermittently first inone direction and subsequently in the opposite direction.

' Fig. 19 shows a circular knit fabric with two elastic strands 3k and32 incorporated in opposite sides of the fabric in segments ofapproximately 175 each, as defined by the lines lc-o-Z and Ic-o-mrespectively, with the one side of the incorporations of the strands 3kand 3l terminating along a common line o-r-lc and with the oppositesides of the incorporations of the strandsy 3k and 3l terminating on thelines o-l and o--m respectively, it being noted that the segment a ofthe fabric, defined by andbetween the lines l-o-i-m., is devoid of anyelastic strand.

The circular fabric of Fig. 19 is split along the line ohm-bisecting thesegment e, and providing marginal areas el and e2 between the Vterminallines I and m of the elastic strands 3k and 3l and the line o--n onwhich the fabric is split longitudinally.

The circular fabric is subsequently laid fiat to form thewelt W or topof a ladys full-fashioned stocking, which is joined to the leg portion Lof the stocking along the line w-w, either by topping and directknitting, sewing, looping, etc.

ing joined together with stitches confined to the areas el, z2.

By making the top of a ladys full-fashioned stocking in the manner abovenoted none of the elastic strands in the upper portion W are severed,either by splitting of the circular knit fabric forming the top W or bythe needle used in stitching the opposite edges of the blank togetherlto complete the stocking. The seam produced by joining the edges of-n,o-n of the top Wis smaller than would be possible if the elastic ranfrom edge to edge of the fabric by reason of the elastic beingeliminated from the zones el and z2 which are joined together to formtheseam at the back of the stocking.

I claim: I

. l. A knitted fabric produced from a continuous inelastic yarn runningthroughout and forming each of a multiplicity of complete successivelyinterknit courses of stitches forming the body of said fabric, and acontinuous elastic yarn incorporated with said inelastic yarn in shortfractional portions solely of veach of a predetermined number of saidcourses in such relation to said inelastic yarn as. to be substantiallyhidden in the fabric with said short vincorporations staggeredalternately to the right and to the left of a predetermined stitch Waleof 'said fabric. l

, 2. A knitted fabric produced from a continuous inelastic yarn runningthroughout and forming each of a multiplicity of complete successivelyinterknit courses of stitches forming the body of said fabric, and acontinuous elastic yarn in*- corporated with said inelasticryarn inshort fractional portions solely of each of a predetermined number ofsaid courses in such relation to said `inelastic yarn as to besubstantially hidden in the fabric with said short incorporationsstaggered alternately to the right and to the left of a predeterminedstitch Wale of said fabric, said elastic strand being knitted inpredetermined stitches of said fabric with said inelastic yarn at leastat one end of each of said short incorporations.

3. A knitted fabric produced from a continuous inelastic yarn runningthroughout and forming each of a multiplicity of complete successivelyinterknit courses of stitches forming the body of said fabric, and acontinuous elastic yarn incorporated with said inelastic yarn in shortfractional portions solely of each of a predetermined number of saidcourses in such relation to said inelastic yarn as to be substantiallyhidden in the fabric with said short incorporations staggeredalternately to the right and to the left of a. predetermined stitch Waleof said fabric, said elastic strand being knitted in predeterminedstitches of said fabric with said inelastic yarn at least at one end ofeach of said short incorporations and laid coursewise in said fabricbetween alternate stitch wales respectively passing in front of andbehind said elastic yarn throughout the remainder of each of .said shortincorporations.

4. A circular knitted fabric produced from a continuous inelastic yarnrunning throughout and forming each of a multiplicity of completesuccessively interknit courses of stitches forming the body of saidfabric, and a continuous elastic yarn incorporated with said inelasticyarn in short fractional portions solely of each of a predeterminednumber of said courses in such relation to said inelastic yarn as to besubstantially hidden. in the fabric with said short incorporationsstaggered alternately to the right and to the left of a predeterminedstitch wale of said fabric, said elastic strand being knitted inpredetermined stitches of said fabric with said inelastic yarn at leastat one end of each of said short incorporations and laid coursewise insaid fabric between alternate stitch wales respectively passing in frontoi' and behind said elastic yarn throughout the remainder of each ofsaid short incorporations.

5. A circular rib knitted fabric produced from a continuous inelasticyarn running throughout and forming each of a multiplicity of completesuccessively interknit courses of stitches forming the body of saidfabric. and a continuous elastic yarn incorporated with said inelasticyarn in short fractional portions solely of each of a predeterminednumber of said courses in such relation to said inelastic yarn as to -besubstantially hidden in the fabric with said short incorporationsstaggered alternately to the right and to the left of a predeterminedstitch wale of said fabric, said elastic strand being knitted inpredetermined stitches of said fabric with said inelastic yarn at leastat one end of each of said short incorporations and laid coursewise insaid fabric between alternate stitch wales respectively passing in frontof and behind said elastic yarn throughout the remainder of each of saidshort incorporations.

WALTER LARKIN.

